[QUOTE=cat man do;839005]As mentioned in another post, the pension barely covers the cost of accommodation in Australia, leaving hardly enough for catfood. If you call that dignity well, lets just say our opinions differ.]

Current Aussie Pension rates: Single = $17,914 p.a. Married couple = $ 27,008.80 p.a. My parents who own their own home and car live comfortably on this with a little bit left over. If you don't own your own home there is a rental allowance on top of these figures. Oh,and throw in a free medical scheme, discounted pharmacuticals, discounted utilities and car registrationfees. I'm sure there are lots of places in the world where you don't have to do it this tough? For me, I think I'll stick with Australia. Just can't decide which state, North Island or South Island? Apparently on this forum it's possibly to live on $500 per month which is $6000 p.a., so I'd reckon then that $27K for a couple would be pretty dignified by comparison.

As mentioned in another post, the pension barely covers the cost of accommodation in Australia, leaving hardly enough for catfood.
If you call that dignity well, lets just say our opinions differ.

They are out there in ever increasing numbers, but I dont expect you to know them.

In Australia we help with accommodation, jobs, food and money.
What's not to like when you have come from an area where poor standards of living, murder, rape and various other atrocities are the daily norm.

ok they should raise the taxes so our cats dont miss there kitty kat meals ????? Maybe that will keep them cats from eating our native birds !

Like I said, enough to survive but not enough for that great lifestyle one deserves after a life of hard work.
And if its only one of you, its even tougher on that $17k as my mother can attest to.

In comparison, that same $17k or $27k/year if spent overseas can have you living very well, thank you very much.
If you sold here you could be living the lifestyle of a Colombian drug dealer in something like this for $120k and still have a few hundred K in the kitty for all the additional niceties that you could now afford, but couldn't dream of in Oz.

Like I said, enough to survive but not enough for that great lifestyle one deserves after a life of hard work.
And if its only one of you, its even tougher on that $17k as my mother can attest to.

In comparison, that same $17k or $27k/year if spent overseas can have you living very well, thank you very much.
If you sold here you could be living the lifestyle of a Colombian drug dealer in something like this for $120k and still have a few hundred K in the kitty for all the additional niceties that you could now afford, but couldn't dream of in Oz.

I prefer my 37 ft yacht that can take me anywhere in the world for $600 per month and know I can still call Australia home... by the way most Colombian drug dealers live in the jungle and are as rare as Tassy tigers.

Looks like my Social Security check will be approximately $800 a month when I reach 62 years of age hear (free hearing aids in Oz too) in the US. Oops, I mean here, not hear.

And being on the tail end of the "baby boom" it may collapse before then.

So, in Australia everyone gets 17k a year for a single guy?

That's right! Plus we throw in free hospital and medical, rent assistance (if required) and all the discounts I've mentioned previously. You'd think most residents would be gratefull to live in a country that looks after it's own that well. I certainly am. And BTW, if you think that's not enough to live on, the government will allow you to earn a bit with a part time job as well before you start to lose any of your pension. Unfortunately I have to wait another 14 years to be eligible.

That's right. Plus we'll throw in free hospital and medical, rent assistance (if required) and all the discounts I've mentioned previously. You'd think most residents would be gratefull to live in a country that looks after it's own that well. I certainly am. And BTW, if you think that's not enough the government will allow you to earn a bit with a part time job as well before you start to lose any of your pension. Unfortunately I have to wait another 14 years to be eligible.

But there is more.....The biggest barrier reef in the world, Islands to explore, Friendly seaside towns to visit, Fresh seafoods to be caught, And personally I find fresh fruit and veg fair priced.......yes we pay alittle more for marine items but from what I hear our wages are much better than other countrys so it kinda balances out....Perhaps we dont live in such a Sh**hole after all but its turning into a great post!

Have you actually tried getting something done?
Public hospital waiting lists are infamously long here.
A older friend is using public health system and has waited over a year for a hip replacement with increasing pain necessitating increased drug use.
My grandmother with expensive private health cover got in and out less than 3 weeks.
Yay to her for being well off.

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rent assistance (if required)

and whats the cheapest habitable dog box cost to rent these days?
One you would be happy for your parents to live in?
$200 a week for a one bedroom or studio apartment?
$300+ for 2 bedroom,
Rent assistance pays $50 so catfood it is this week.

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and all the discounts I've mentioned previously.

Yes yes, so they drop from being outrageously expensive to expensive, yippee.
Baked beans this week instead of catfood, this is the life.

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You'd think most residents would be gratefull to live in a country that looks after it's own that well. I certainly am.

You arent old enough to benifit from it yet.
Lets see if it is still available for you in 14 years and while you are waiting, ask yourself why is the Govt. pushing retirement age out, begging the aged to work past retirement years and why are reverse mortgages becoming more popular?

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And BTW, if you think that's not enough to live on, the government will allow you to earn a bit with a part time job as well before you start to lose any of your pension.

I can guarantee you will need to to survive in future years and pity those that are physically unable to.

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Unfortunately I have to wait another 14 years to be eligible.

You never know, it might be 20 years if at all by the time you get there.

Other countries are running out of pension money and cutting back on medical care etc, what makes you think Australia is any different?

But there is more.....The biggest barrier reef in the world, Islands to explore, Friendly seaside towns to visit, Fresh seafoods to be caught,

How will you get out there on $17k a year which mostly gets eaten up on rent, swim?

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but from what I hear our wages are much better than other countrys so it kinda balances out.

Have fun when your paypacket goes from $100k plus down to $17k
Report back and tell me how your lifestyle is then.

All I can say is I hope you are cashed up enough not to be relying on a pension.

And look, I am not saying Australia having a pension is not a good thing and I agree, Australians should be reasonably grateful that one is available, but what I am saying is dont kid yourself that it will go any where near to providing the lifestyle that you may want to live in your later years..
If you truly believe this, I think a lot of you are in for a very rude shock.

An interesting read showing that a comfortable lifestyle in 2006 requires more than double what the pension is.
In all examples it is assumed that the retiree OWNS their own home.

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Defining ‘Quality of Life’ in Retirement

In 2003-04, Westpac commissioned the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) to determine how much money was needed in retirement to fund a modest lifestyle, and a comfortable lifestyle . While this research includes all retirees who might be much younger than the older Australian population under discussion here, it is nevertheless relevant to the debate around what quality of life in retirement actually entails, and what level of income is required to fund it.

The ASFA provide very clear and detailed budgets defining two states of retirement. One is a modest lifestyle that enables fairly basic living.It precludes such things as eating out, travel, private health insurance, running a motor vehicle or entertaining at home. The other state of retirement is a comfortable lifestyle that enables a healthy retiree to be involved in a broad range of social and leisure activities; to purchase some household goods such as electricalequipment; to own and run a good car; and to partake of some national and occasionally, international travel. In all these estimates, it is assumed that the retired individual or couple owns their own home.

Breaking down budgets into areas such as on-going household costs, utilities, clothing, personal care, transport, leisure, and others, the ASFA suggests that a single person living a modest lifestyle, needs approximately $18 400 per year ($353.05 per week), while a couple would need approximately $25 900 a year ($496.57). To live a comfortable lifestyle, the ASFA suggests that a single person requires $35 700 per year ($685.26 per week), while a couple requires $47 800 per year ($917.16 per week). These costs are based upon the national average costs as at December 2006 .

Clearly the modest budget allows for very little other than the basics. The question arises as to whether quality of life can be achieved when limited transport, healthcare, and social activities are available. The ASFA argue that the shift to funding a comfortable lifestyle adds significantly to the quality of life in retirement, and enables retirees to fully participate in their community, including social and sporting activities, learning and volunteering and a number of other personally fulfilling activities. However, this involves a significant increase in income.